By Nasser Hussain for the Daily Mail
Published: 19:02 BST, 14 June 2019 | Updated: 19:14 BST, 14 June 2019
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I had reservations about England fielding Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in the same side because it went against the way they have done things on their rise to become the best one-day team in the world.
Yet it is a move that has proved they are ahead of the curve.
We have often seen trends set at global tournaments. For instance, in the 1992 World Cup New Zealand opened with a spinner in Dipak Patel and then in 1996 Sri Lanka gave us the first real pinch-hitters in Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana.
I had reservations about England fielding Jofra Archer and Mark Wood in the same side
Then look at the way England won the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean in 2010 and the slower ball bouncer was a big part of their armoury.
In this World Cup, fast, short-pitched bowling is all the rage, with bowlers looking to combat the all-powerful white-ball batsmen by coming up with something different.
You have to credit England for being at the forefront of that, even if it has meant leaving out a second spinner who has been a big part of their success in Moeen Ali.
But it is not just a case of running up and banging it in, as West Indies did to little effect at Southampton on Friday. You have to be smart as well and Wood and Archer were very smart in bowling West Indies out for 212.
Archer took three wickets as West Indies were bowled out for 212 in Southampton on Friday
Fast, short-pitched bowling has become all the rage and England are at the